It's hard to believe that 25 years have passed since Simply Red's stars hit the charts, securing their place as one of Britain's most successful bands.

For the next two years it was the best selling album in the UK, with the title track and 'Something's Got Me Started' among the hit singles that seemed to play on a loop on radio for the next 24 months.

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Already a respected soul and pop band, this was the album that really earned Simply Red their place in the mainstream and edged them on a different road, that saw them produce club-influenced smash hits like 'Fairground' just a few years later.

Today the group, who started out playing tiny venues as a punk-influenced outfit in Manchester, have sold over 60 million albums worldwide.

This year the band, led by Mick Hucknall, have been back on the road, playing the full album on a Stars anniversary tour that lands at the Hydro on November 16. In many ways, it returns the flame-haired frontman to a city that has always felt like a home from home.

"I’ll never forget one of the early times we played in Glasgow, at the Barrowlands," Hucknall told Glasgow Live. "It was the most fantastic audience, loud and crazy. I’ve always had a great joy playing there."

The famous Manchester United fan quickly added: "Also, my dear friend Sir Alex Ferguson is a Glaswegian and I always think of him when I’m there - as well as my own grandmother who came from Glasgow.

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"There’s always a very passionate, rowdy and energetic atmosphere when I play Glasgow shows so I always look forward to them!"

The Stars tour has taken the band all over the world in the past 10 months and is a 'real' arena tour, with a spectacular set that is perfect for the grand stage at the SSE Hydro.

But what can fans of the band expect in a couple of weeks time? We spoke to Mick about the tour, the album and getting back out on the road.

Simply Red on stage in Edinburgh (Image: Roberto Ricciuti/Redferns)

What are your thoughts on Stars being 25 years old? For an album to have that kind of longevity you obviously did something right in the studio back then.

After the success of A New Flame I set myself the challenge of composing a whole album of original songs. I could never have imagined that Stars would have the impact it did. It’s always about the music. I have this abiding faith in the music and that will shine through when I’m dead and gone. We were never a genre kind of band. It’s the gimmicks that can make music sound dated. I don’t really care about the contemporary side of it because I’m always trying to make music that will last a long time, and we were always playing the long game.

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Stars was the biggest selling album in 1991 and 1992, I can imagine things certainly change after that kind of success?

Of course a lot of stuff was happening around me and the band at that time and it was easy to be caught up in it all, but as an artist and songwriter I think one of the things that I really look fondly back on from the period is the recognition we gained for the album with a Brit award for the Best British Band and I also got an Ivor Novello award for the Best Songwriter of the Year in 1991 for the record.

"I could never have imagined that Stars would have the impact it did" (Image: C Brandon/Redferns)

How has it felt to be back on the road, not just here in the UK, but also around the world?

We finished the last leg of the Big Love tour at the Olympic Stadium in Munich in September and the band were all saying how fresh the whole thing felt , especially after over 100 shows in the past year around the world. It’s been great seeing so many smiling faces in the crowd. We’ve also noticed on this tour a lot more younger people coming to the shows . I guess some people are discovering our music for the first time on Spotify and Youtube.

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Do you adapt your live experience for the different cities, towns or countries you visit?

For us, it’s more about putting on the best show we can – come rain or shine, indoors or outdoors but it’s a great change of scenery to be playing all over the world. We’ve played some unusual venues this year around Europe. Racecourses, forests and a few castles, it will make for an nice change to not worry about the weather with this upcoming arena tour. November isn’t ideal for anything outdoors!

I’m really lucky to have an amazing band, we’re all on the same wavelength when it comes to putting on the best show possible. We constantly push each other to perform at our best, to go above and beyond for the audience because at the end of the day, if the audience isn’t enjoying the show then we’re not doing our job properly!

It used to be one of our tour rituals to play cricket in the downtime before a show and for a while I had some cricket nets in my back garden. Nowadays I mostly play it on the PS4 at home but I still love going to see the matches at Lords Cricket Ground when I have a chance.

This tour is specifically to celebrate 25 years since the release of Stars and that tracklisting will be the second half of the show. What about the first half?

Rather than just play the same songs we’ve been playing for the last year, we are going to introduce a few songs that we have’t played for a while, a few fan favourites .There’ll be plenty of big Simply Red songs in the first half but maybe not the most obvious ones!

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You are a settled family man now, will you be bringing them out on the road?

Touring is effectively me going back to work, so while I’m sure they’ll be coming out to see a few shows, I think it may get a little boring for them at this point! Plus, we have to work around school term for my daughter so that limits the amount she can visit while I’m away. Luckily, we won’t be too far from home this time so I’ll be able to pop back and see her more often than say, if I were back in Australia.

"I’ve no plans to give up touring" (Image: Neil Lupin/Redferns)

60 million albums and counting; has there been a situation that you found yourself in that summed up how big your band had become and how far you have come from Denton ?

There is a perfect moment that I do remember and that was me being sat by a hotel pool in Los Angeles one afternoon with Keith Richards, just listening to music through his speakers and talking about music with the sun setting as the backdrop. It was then I released how special and lucky it was and I just thought “I’ve reached heaven”.

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You’ve been quoted on various occasions saying no more Simply Red; what brought you back?

The fans. Our fans are fantastic and the love they have for our music and the fact that we are still able to perform at this level across the UK and the world. When I was spending my time being a family man, my manager came around and we were chatting and he mentioned that we had various anniversaries coming up, the band was going to be 30 and of course ‘Stars’ was soon to be 25 years old. The Big Love tour has been great but I’m very happy spending time at home with my family too so once the Stars tour is over I’ll go back to that. I’m always happy to celebrate anniversaries so I’ve no plans to give up touring.

The UK tour ends just in time for December and Christmas. Have you got anything special planned?

It will be good to actually have some time to do Christmas shopping and relax with my family. It’s a great time of year and one that we really enjoy, but I’ll keep the family traditions to myself!